German Court Convicts 4 Ex-volkswagen Managers of Fraud in Emissions Scandal
FRANKFURT, Germany—A German court on Monday convicted four former Volkswagen managers of fraud and gave two of them prison sentences for their part in the manipulation of emissions controls, almost a decade after the scandal erupted over the company's rigging of diesel-engine vehicles.
The former head of diesel development was sentenced to four and a half years in prison, and the head of drive train electronics to two years and seven months by the court in Braunschweig, German news agency dpa reported. Two others received suspended sentences of 15 months and 10 months.
The scandal began in September 2015 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a notice of violation. saying that the company had rigged engine control software that let the cars pass emissions tests while they emitted far more pollution in actual driving.
The company has paid more than $33 billion in fines and compensation to vehicle owners. Two VW managers received prison sentence in the U.S. The former head of the company's Audi division, Rupert Stadler, was given a suspended sentence of 21 months and a fine of 1.1 million euros ($1.25 million). The sentence is still subject to appeal.
Missing from the trial, which lasted almost four years, was former CEO Martin Winterkorn. Proceedings against him have been suspended because of health issues, and it's not clear when he might go on trial. Winterkorn has denied wrongdoing.
Further proceedings are open against 31 other suspects in Germany.
Related Stories
12/20/2024
12/6/2024
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Black America Web
9 minutes ago
- Black America Web
Elon Musk Claims Trump's Name Is On The Epstein List, Taco Trump Threatens To End Phony Stark's Government Contracts
Source: The Washington Post / Getty / Elon Musk / Donald Trump It should come as no surprise that the bromance between these two ego maniacs would have come to a fiery end. We knew this day would come, but no one had Musk and Trump beefing with each other so soon on their bingo cards. The alleged ketamine abuser couldn't keep his disdain for Trump's 'one big beautiful bill,' calling it a 'disgusting abomination.' 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it anymore,' Musk began. 'This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.' Trump was uncharacteristically quiet following Musk's initial comments about his legislative centerpiece of his second presidency, the 'one big beautiful bill.' That all changed when Trump finally 'clapped back' at Musk while taking questions during his meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Trump said he was 'very surprised' and 'disappointed' by his former financier's comments about his stupid bill, claiming the Tesla chief saw the bill and understood its inner workings better than anybody, while suggesting that Musk was mad because of the removal of subsidies and mandates for electric vehicles. Elon Musk Had Time For Donald Trump Musk responded in real time via his 'former platform,' X, formerly Twitter, with a flurry of posts on X accusing Trump of 'ingratitude' and 'Without me, Trump would have lost the election,' while refuting the orange menace's claims. 'Keep the EV/solar incentive cuts in the bill, even though no oil & gas subsidies are touched (very unfair!!), but ditch the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill,' Musk wrote. Oh, and he wasn't done. Musk then hit the president with a low blow, writing, 'Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT!' Donald Trump Claps Back Trump finally fired back on his platform, Truth Social, by threatening to cut Musk's government contracts. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didn't do it.' Felon 47 wrote. Musk replied by threatening to decommission SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which could be detrimental to the International Space Station and NASA, as it is described as 'the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning significant amounts of cargo to Earth' and can seat seven passengers. Musk also agreed with a post stating that Trump should be impeached and replaced by JD Vance. Oh, this is getting spicy. While all of this was going on, CNN reports that Tesla stocks took a hit and Musk's net worth shrank. Per CNN : Tesla shares plummeted 15% this afternoon as Elon Musk's battle with President Donald Trump intensified. Trump threatened in a social media post to target Musk's business empire. 'The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon's Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. The Tesla selloff has wiped off more than $150 billion off the market value of Telsa, which started the day worth nearly $1.1 trillion. It has also erased a chunk off the net worth of Musk, the world's richest person. Social media has pulled up all the seats, grabbed some popcorn and are currently watching Musk go at with Trump and his supporters, you can see those reactions in the gallery below. Elon Musk Claims Trump's Name Is On The Epstein List, Taco Trump Threatens To End Phony Stark's Government Contracts was originally published on Black America Web Featured Video CLOSE
Yahoo
24 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The Memo: Uneasy truce descends in Trump-Musk war
President Trump and Elon Musk let an uneasy truce mostly take hold Friday, a day after their previous alliance imploded in spectacular fashion. On Thursday, Musk cast innuendo on Trump's decades-old association with deceased financier Jeffrey Epstein, implying that the 'Epstein files' had not been released because they contained incriminating information about the president. Musk also contended the president would not have won last year's election against then-Vice President Kamala Harris without his help. Those jabs followed comments from Trump, during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, where he took aim at Musk. Trump asserted that Musk had grown critical of the massive budget bill making its way through Congress for selfish reasons — because it cut incentives to buy electrical vehicles such as Teslas. He also suggested the businessman was operating out of a sense of pique because the White House recently withdrew its nomination of a Musk ally, Jared Isaacman, to lead NASA. There was nothing nearly so spectacular during the day Friday — although that could change at any moment give both men's irascibility and penchant for verbal combat. Instead, Trump mostly confined himself to phone calls to TV anchors, where he expressed shoulder-shrugging lack of interest in speaking with Musk. Musk maintained his usual prolific social media posting, but mostly about topics unrelated to Trump. Still, it was hardly a full ceasefire. On his round of phone calls — none of which appeared to have been recorded for broadcast — Trump told Bret Baier of Fox News, 'Elon has totally lost it,' informed Jonathan Karl of ABC News that Musk had 'lost his mind,' and asserted to Dana Bash of CNN that 'the poor guy's got a problem.' The White House also let it be known that Trump intended to either sell or give away the Tesla he bought in March as a public display of support for Musk. Musk, among many other posts, approved of the idea advanced by another social media user that he had 'criticized Congress, not Trump. Trump then attacked Elon personally.' 'Exactly,' Musk responded. The businessman also called Trump's erstwhile chief strategist Steve Bannon 'a criminal.' Musk and Bannon have a long-running feud. But many Republicans will settle for hostilities between Trump and Musk at least not ramping up any further from their Thursday levels. Trump seems reluctant to get into an all-out verbal war with Musk, especially given the massive megaphone wielded by the world's richest man. Musk has more than 220 million followers on X, the social media platform he owns. Though unpopular with the general population, Musk has a strong hold over the younger, male-dominated online right. CBS News also reported that, despite the feud, 'there has been no effort to oust the over 100 administration officials who came from Musk's orbit.' The leveling-off of tensions will come as a relief to Republicans on Capitol Hill. Exasperation with Musk neared the boiling point Thursday, when he implied he might back the creation of an alternative party, while also lambasting Trump and congressional leaders — including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) for how far they have moved from past statements bemoaning growing deficits. The current legislation, which Trump called the 'big beautiful bill,' would increase deficits by $2.4 trillion over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Republican leaders are already grappling with tight math as they try to get the bill through the Senate, where the GOP has a 53-47 majority. Republican senators have expressed misgivings from different perspectives, with Sens. Rand Paul (Ky.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) dismayed that the legislation does not curb government spending, while others such as Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) are uneasy about changes to Medicaid that are projected to lead to millions of Americans losing health insurance. Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to turn some of the Trump-Musk chaos to their advantage. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent out a fundraising appeal telling supporters that the clash between the two men meant 'we knew our moment to get ahead had arrived.' Democratic Reps. Stephen Lynch (Mass.) and Robert Garcia (Calif.) wrote to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel seeking more information about Musk's comments regarding Trump and Epstein. The move was first reported by Axios. The two congressmen — both of whom serve on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, with Lynch as its acting ranking member — cited Musk's contention that the 'real reason' the Epstein files had not been released was because Trump was mentioned in them. 'We ask that you immediately clarify whether this allegation is true,' the two Democrats wrote. They also requested a description of 'the role of President Donald Trump in reviewing documents pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of convicted sex offenders Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.' The White House has dismissed the request as a stunt, and many other Republicans will argue it is mischief-making. But the bigger question is whether the Trump-Musk feud will burst back into life anytime soon — and, if so, who will get caught in the blast zone. The Memo is a reported column by Niall Stanage. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
The Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz for June 7
Happy June, quotes readers! It was a tense and smoggy week in Chicago. Immigration advocates were alerted Wednesday of people being detained at a U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement office on the Near South Side. Organizers and several aldermen went to protest, and several of them clashed with federal agents. Now, City Council members plan to have a hearing to look into the Chicago Police Department's response to the demonstration. Local immigration advocates also plan to challenge President Donald Trump's travel ban that bars or restricts travelers from 19 countries. The U.S. president spoke with several world leaders this week. After a call with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Trump said the two countries will continue their trade talks. During their phone call Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the president that he would respond to Ukraine's recent drone attacks on a Russian airfield. And in a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump suggested that pursuing peace in eastern Europe is not the best path forward right now. Amidst all of this, the relationship between the president and his former close adviser Elon Musk came to a bitter end as the two exchanged harsh words on social media, and Trump threatened to cut Starlink and SpaceX's government contracts. The Trump administration is also investigating former President Joe Biden's use of an autopen to sign pardons and other documents. Meanwhile in Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson pushed aldermen to add a city grocery tax as the long-established state grocery levy expires. A jury found Crosetti Brand guilty of first-degree murder in the slaying of Jayden Perkins, the 11-year-old killed in a brutal 2024 attack as he tried to protect his pregnant mother. And Chicago police determined that Officer Krystal Rivera, a mother and four-year veteran of the force, was mistakenly shot and killed by a fellow cop during a confrontation with an armed suspect Thursday in the Chatham neighborhood. In Springfield, Illinois lawmakers voted to pass the state budget. The $55 billion spending plan was balanced with a combination of spending cuts and an estimated $800 million in tax increases, including hikes on tobacco products, vaping and online sportsbooks. The passage of the budget closed out a legislative session with mixed results for Gov. JB Pritzker. Jerry Reinsdorf is selling the Chicago White Sox — just not this year. On Thursday, the team announced Reinsdorf and billionaire Justin Ishbia reached a long-term investment agreement for Ishbia to obtain a controlling interest in the team by 2029 at the earliest. In other sports news, the Chicago Fire are privately financing a $650 million soccer stadium at The 78, the Chicago Sports Network is finally broadcasting on Comcast and the Chicago Sky are taking on the Indiana Fever this weekend in the first professional women's basketball game played at the United Center. But fans hoping to catch another matchup between Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark will have to wait: The 2024 WNBA rookie of the year is out for a quadriceps strain. Though the forecast looks nice, you may consider spending some time indoors this weekend. Smoke from Canadian wildfires is blanketing Chicago, with the city's air quality at times ranked the worst in the U.S. That's it for the news! Test your knowledge of who said what with the Tribune's Quotes of the Week quiz from June 1 to 7. Missed last week? You can find it here or check out our past editions of Quotes of the Week.
